Intensive lobbying by members of the 9/11 Commission and families' representatives kept pressure on Congressmen throughout the US presidential election campaign.

'Huge mistake'

After the bill was approved by the House, Mr Bush's office said he was "very pleased"
.

Families lobbied Congress hard to implement changes

"He knows that
this bill will make America safer," White House spokesman Trent
Duffy said.

Senator Jay Rockefeller, the senior Democrat on the influential Senate Intelligence Committee, welcomed the bill, saying that if it had existed in 2001, "we might have had a chance not to go through the horrible experience that we did on 11 September".

But some Republicans said that despite the amendments, they still opposed the entire
bill because they saw it as useless.

"I believe creating a national intelligence director is a
huge mistake," said Representative Ray LaHood, an Illinois
Republican.

"It's another bureaucracy, it's another layer
of government. It would not have prevented 9/11 and it will
not prevent another 9/11."